Forever and Always
by WinterXstarxz
Summary: "Sakura-chan, I promise I'll be with you, forever and always!" "R-...really?" "Un!"


** AU somewhat NaruSaku, kind of not. Prompted by Forever and Always by Parachute.**

**Okay. I'll admit, I usually don't do song-fics and this one isn't really a song-fic, but it has lyrics. Uh, yes, I realise I should be working on my other fics, (including Dango and Colorblind) but the plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone! As I'm sure you've all experienced before. :P Seriously, when I was trying (Keyword: **_**trying**_**) to sleep, (fat chance of that though. I drank coffee two hours before I went to bed) I was like, "Okay, so this is how they can meet, and then..." I nearly went insane cuz I couldn't write anything down. So, being the brave (so not true. I get scared just because if I'm walking down a hallway with a corner and blah, I don't know they're there, and I just suddenly see them, I get a heart attack.) little girl I am, I went into the dark, grabbed my laptop, and hightailed it out of my kitchen. Well, I'll stop bothering you guys and ONWARDS TO THE STORY!**

**...Sorry. that was a lie. I remember what I have to say. This is important. IMPORTANT NOTICE DOWN HERE! This might seem like a Team 7 fic, but I swear it's (kind of) NaruSaku. Notice how Naruto and Sakura are in ALL scenes?**

* * *

"_Ne, ne, sakura-chan, I'll be with you forever and always. Promise!"_

"_R-...really?" _

"_Un!"_

...

Taunting sniggers were heard in a small park. "Forehead girl! You should be ashamed of having such a fat forehead!" Little chants of 'Yeah!' surrounded a girl cowering under her arm.

"P-please stop! Leave me alone!" The little girl whispered weakly, holding up her arms criss-cross as if to protect herself from the verbal insults.

"What was that forehead? Sorry, I couldn't hear you; I was too busy staring at your ugly hair!" The (apparently) leader of the group yelled.

"Oi! It's not nice to bully others dattebayo!" A voice called out noisily. Ami, the leader, turned around to give the person who said that an earful; but once she saw who it was; she ended up saying,

"Look it's the village monster! Let's go!" Her lackeys looked scared and they ran away with Ami. Sakura cautiously lowered her arms and looked towards the incoming footsteps. When she tilted her head upwards, she thought, '_Is that an angel?_' The boy smiled so widely she unconsciously wondered if his cheek muscles hurt.

"I'm Naruto, who are you?" Sakura warily stared at him before answering his question.

"Sakura. Th-thanks for helping me." Naruto blushed a little, and, to Sakura's disbelief, smile grew _even wider_.

"It was no problem! I know how it feels..." Sakura smiled shyly at him and accepted the hand that he held out in front of her. That was the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

**. . .**

Six years later

**. . .**

A chime rang throughout the whole school. Jubilant shouts of joy chorused in the halls and classrooms. School was out! Chatter picked up among the students as they discussed their plans for the summer. Two students in particular however, sat in the corner laughing quietly like madmen—except less mad. Most of the students didn't pay attention as they were all rushing out the door and/or they were already used to that type of behaviour from them.

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, do you think Iruka-sensei got the present we left him yet?" Naruto asked excitedly. Sakura pondered the question, looked at the clock, and had a distinct urge to slam her head against the wall repeatedly once she realised something she had so stupidly overlooked.

"Naruto, in about one minute, we will be toast. So, we need to get running. _Now_." Sakura grabbed his wrist along with their backpacks, and tugged him with her outside the school and onto the pavement. She stopped running when they were a good two blocks away from the school. She faced Naruto to gauge his reaction. He looked slightly surprised but grinned when he heard a little "boom!" in the distance. They stared at each other for a few heartbeats and then high fived each other.

"We got him good! Deidara-nii would be so proud of us!" Naruto laughed. Sakura joined him and nodded enthusiastically.

**. . .**

Two years later

**. . .**

"Happy birthday Sakura! You're finally thirteen!" Ino and Naruto yelled at the same time. Sakura grinned brightly. "But..." Ino spoke out. "I can't believe you actually wore that disgusting looking dress." Ino and Naruto's faces paled after she blurted that out. Sakura's grin was suddenly replaced by a devilish smile.

"Oh yeah... that reminds me, Naruto... Ino..." An audible gulp was heard from said two blondes. "Remember what you guys promised if I wore this dress today?"

Naruto and Ino turned around slowly. They lowered their voices slightly and hunched their backs. "Damnit! I thought Sakura-chan would forget about that bet!" Ino nodded sagely in agreement and put her own two cents in it.

"It was almost three months ago! Why the hell does forehead have to have an eidetic memory?!" Naruto faced Ino blankly with a tinge of confusion. Ino smacked her forehead and muttered, "If you weren't Sakura's other best friend..." Naruto sputtered indignantly and asked,

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Both blondes were tapped on their shoulders and, because of their fear, turned around robotically and smiled sheepishly but then paled even more than before. Regret of making the stupid bet and consequences practically seeped out of them

"...Ne Sakura-chan... you're scaring me." Her smile widened even more and said three simple words that made them have nightmares to come.

"_Welcome to Hell._"

**. . .**

"Naruto." Aforementioned boy (_Teen damnit!)_ looked over to Sakura and seeing she had gotten his attention, continued. "Let's go to Walmart." Naruto raised an eyebrow and after a moment, shrugged and stood up.

**. . .**

Sasuke Uchiha was not having a good day. Nope. Being chased by fangirls was never on his bucket list, hell, he didn't even have a bucket list. Today however, he thought irritated, was even worse. The stupid fangirls had gone too far this time. He had been in his house innocently changing when he heard an odd shutter noise. He looked around his room and finally peered outside his window. A little camera sat in all its glory. Flashing. His eye twitched slightly and was silently outraging. He grabbed the camera and took out the memory card and snapped it.

He strode out his house (ahem, mansion. Like, duh!) and instantly regretted it. Fangirls were everywhere. (how...how the hell did he not notice them?!) Sasuke paused, and then ran. Ran for his life. The fangirls noticed this and chased him. Sasuke, running out of hiding options since he couldn't go back to his house (the fangirls stood guard in case he went back) and he couldn't exactly command them to stop. It seemed they were especially persistent today. So he did the only reasonable thing to do in that situation. He ran into the closest Walmart and bought a hat.

He sighed and tugged on his cap, pulling it down a bit more so his eyes weren't visible. He wandered around the racks of clothes and stopped when he heard a whisper. "Pick me!"

WTF.

He parted the clothing and his first thought was, _'What kind of freak dyes their hair pink?' _and, unintentionally, he said it out loud. That is how Sasuke learned not to tease Sakura about her hair and just shut up and stay quiet. He left Walmart sporting a punched jaw and bruised ego.

**. . . **

A pink head was bowed, hands folded in a silent prayer in front of a grey tombstone. A ways away from here, a dark-haired teen and his best friend (he always asked himself why the hell he was his best friend but knew it was technically because of a certain pink haired girl) were engaged in a glaring contest at a familiar ramen stand.

"Dobe."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Tem—" a rude beeping interrupted the blonde. He broke eye contact with the slightly brooding male and checked his phone. Sasuke looked at Naruto's cell from his spot. Both teens immediately became alert. On the screen a calendar popped up and written on today's date was,

_Check on Sakura._

They looked at each other, nodded, and stood up, leaving the money for the food on the counter. "Oi, Sasuke-teme, the place is about five minutes from here right?" Sasuke shifted his eyes over to Naruto and nodded minutely. They started running towards where they knew the pinkette was at.

They slid open the gates and walked towards where Sakura was at. They both stood behind her. Sakura turned, looked at them, and then wordlessly hugged them. Naruto wrapped both of his arms around her while Sasuke awkwardly put his arm around her. Her body shook slightly and they both comforted her albeit differently. Naruto made shushing noises and kept on telling her that they were with them. Sasuke just rubbed circles on her back comfortingly and rested his chin lightly on her head.

**. . .**

Later that night, Naruto came over to Sakura's and spent some time with her, catching up and comforting her more if she needed it. Right before he left to his house, he told her reassuringly, "Remember Sakura-chan; I'll be with you forever and always. ...Even Teme will be too." He added begrudgingly. She simply smiled at him—although it had bitterness in it—and told him to get home safely.

**. . .**

Two years later

**. . .**

"Forehead, you're going to my party tonight right?" Ino walked towards Sakura. Sakura shut her locker after grabbing her books and turned to Ino.

"Of course I am Pig. What would you do if I weren't there?" Ino smiled and shook her head.

"Just dress _nicely_, got it Forehead?" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." She responded. Ino nodded to herself, seemingly satisfied.

**. . .**

Sakura looked in the mirror examining her choice of clothing. She wore a red tiered lace top, grey jeans, and knee-high black boots. A little bracelet had been added to give it a little something..._extra._ Sakura looked a while longer, and shrugged. It was good enough.

Sakura grabbed her phone and dialed Naruto's number.

"Heeeeelllo?" A muffled voice came through.

"Hey Naruto, it's Sakura. Are you on your way here?" She asked while examining her nails.

"Yep, I'm on the freeway. I'll be there in," He paused. Most likely to check his clock. "In five minutes." Sakura made a noise that signaled she understood.

"Bye." She told him while he said the same before hanging up.

Sakura quickly tied her hair loosely while pinning her bangs with bobby pins. The bell rang shortly after and she hopped down the stairs pulling the door open and interlocking her arm with Naruto's. "So you're ready to go then..." Sakura nodded her head and pulled Naruto with her into his car.

**. . .**

"Naruto don't drink too much. You know I don't have a drivers license and you're my only ride home. Not to mention we gotta help clear Ino's house before 12:00." Naruto waved it off and grinned at her.

"When have I ever drank too much?" Sakura just stared at him unimpressed before shaking her head and going off to find Ino.

**. . .**

"I told you I wouldn't drink too much! ...Although I feel sort of woozy." Sakura glared at him. "Of course, it's just a little tiiiiiiinny little thing in the back of my head. I can still drive fine y'know." She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Uh huh." Naruto just smiled.

"Still, that was one wicked party wasn't it Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked happily while taking one hand to turn on the radio.

"I guess.." She mumbled. A song they both loved came on. They looked at each other and their eyes visibly brightened. At exactly the same moment, they started to sing along with the song.

_She's sitting at the table, the hours get later_

_He was s'posed to be here._

Sakura smiled as she leaned against the chair while Naruto continued to sing.

_ She borrows some rings from the couple next door,_

_Everybody's laughing as the tears fall on the floor,_

"Hey Naruto, what did you even do there? I hardly saw you!" He grinned smugly and started to babble on and on. He turned to face her for a few seconds. But that was all it took.

Lights became brighter and brighter from the Naruto's window and Sakura's eyes widened. "NARUTO! WATCH OUT!" She managed to choke out before a truck slammed into them and, ironically, the last verse was sung.

_As he says, "I will love you forever. Forever and always. Please just remember even if I'm not there. I'll always love you, forever and always."_

**. . .**

Three weeks later

**. . .**

_Naruto! No! Don't leave me!_

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Nngh..." Sakura groaned before opening her eyes slowly.

"Ah, Haruno-san, how are you feeling?" A nurse came in with a clipboard and smiled warmly at her.

"Fine... What happened..?" She asked, still groggy. The nurse frowned slightly and wrote something down on her clipboard before answering Sakura's question.

"You were in a car accident." After she had spoken those words memories hit Sakura like a cold bucket of water. _'No...Naruto...Naruto!'_

"W-what happened to the boy who was with me?" She asked almost timidly. The nurse's eyes shone with pity. She closed her eyes and said slowly, "He... Since the truck that crashed into you was coming from the left, the driver's side received the most damage. You were lucky that you were sitting in the passenger's seat. You avoided the brunt of the hit."

Sakura sat there and silently got up.

"Ah, Haruno-san! You shouldn't get up!" The nurse chided gently before pushing her back to the bed lightly.

"Can you leave me alone please?" Sakura asked quietly. The nurse hesitated before nodding.

She shut the door. Sakura let everything the nurse said sink in.

She cried.

She sat there in the bed feeling something break inside her when she realized it was all her fault. If she hadn't asked him what she had, the accident might not have happened. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I..." She stopped, the tears still making their way down her face. Grief hit her like a brick. "Why...?" She asked. "I thought you promised to be there forever!" She shouted quietly. "Why did you have to go?!" She screamed in frustration. Tears kept on pouring from her once bright now dull, emerald orbs. Sobs racked throughout her body. "I miss you! Please come back!" She cried even harder. "I love you!"


End file.
